Mortlock out, McCaw in?

The British

& Irish Lions

Tour to New Zealand 2017

Mortlock out, McCaw in?

Australian captain Stirling Mortlock will miss next Saturday's Bledisloe Cup clash against New Zealand due to concussion, while All Black counterpart Richie McCaw could be set to make a sensational return to action.

Mortlock scored a typically-powerful individual try in last weekend's win over South Africa in Perth but was forced to leave the field early in the second half.

"Stirling was concussed last weekend," said Wallabies head coach Robbie Deans.

"We had hoped that, with time, the symptoms would resolve themselves, but that hasn't happened soon enough for this match, so we've made the call (to leave him out) early."

Kiwi skipper McCaw missed both Tri Nations matches against the Springboks earlier this month as a result of an ankle injury but the 27-year-old openside has been pencilled in for the much-talked about clash in Sydney.

McCaw was expected to miss his country's opening four rounds of the competition but Graham Henry has selected the inspirational Canterbury Crusader in the No7 shirt, although Daniel Braid has also been named in case McCaw isn't yet ready for Saturday's encounter.